Above Average Hurricane Season Is Forecast By NOAA

It starts on Thursday. June 1st is the official beginning of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season. We've already had one gun jumping storm. Tropical Storm Arlene made an appearance in April and quickly fizzled in the North Atlantic.

By the way, in number terms, the government forecasters are predicting 11 to 17 named systems and between five and nine of those systems could reach the hurricane threshold. That would be a storm with sustained winds of 74 mph or greater.

This weekend Louisiana residents can take advantage of a bit of a break in shopping for hurricane preparedness supplies. It's the state's Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday. We know you don't ever really prepare but it's fun to pretend that you do right? Come on, we see you in the same long lines that we are standing in when a storm is approaching.

You can actually save money on batteries, generators, certain kinds of radios and many other things that will come in handy should a storm creep into the Gulf of Mexico and remind us we shouldn't keep screwing up our state's wetlands.

Of course, any forecast is just a guess. It's a better than "educated guess" and a lot harder than you probably think it is to make. Your job during the tropical season is to stay close to us at the radio station or our website. We will have official and confirmed information that you can use to keep yourself and your family safe.